Amber Nolan is a restless travel writer who calls Key West home. Her work has appeared on USA Today, About.com, Cruise Critic, Frommers, and several other travel publications. Amber’s most unusual project involved hitchhiking on small airplanes to 49 states, during which time she spent two years on the road, or rather, “on the skyways.” She is currently working on a book that documents the unusual journey and provides insight into the aviation community. Before getting into travel writing, Amber worked for an activist, investigative newspaper in London, so joining forces with the Blue Paper allows her to go back to her muckraking roots. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism.

46 Responses to “Key West: Legal Restaurant Workers Being Deported”

So are you saying the whole ACLU special Town Hall was about “nothing”? Some of those people travelled hundreds of miles just to come here and talk about issues such as this [ie. What should ICE be spending their manpower hours on. Is this what the President had in mind? Is the Executive Order being implemented properly or in the way the majority of Americans would like to see it implemented?] Please do tell us more about YOUR views on immigration policy and why this doesn’t matter at all, whatsoever, to you. Thanks!!

Haha! I think Hagie meant there is no story because there is actually no story on the page. If you look via mobile phone, there is no video, if you look at the page on a pc, there is a video. Or maybe I misunderstood your replys?

Another Trump hit piece by a liberal. Deporting a legal resident? I find that highly unlikely because there are no grounds unless there is a criminal conviction that results in his green card being revoked. Did you actually see their permits? How do you get to stay if you entered legally? Did you interview anyone from ICE? No, because it didn’t fit your agenda. You interviewed an anti-Trump writer and immigrants.

Where were you when Obama stopped Cubans from entering? Where were you when Obama deported 2.5 MILLION immigrants? He gets a pass, right?

This is a story about Key West residents being deported. ICE does not do interviews about the specifics of their deportation cases. Now this is very telling: You wrote, “You interviewed an anti-Trump writer and immigrants.” Maybe try paying a bit more attention rather than getting angry and making assumptions about what “team” we are on. We are not on any team. The writer you speak of is a very good friend of Donald Trump – for over 15 years. [That information was provided beneath his name in the video] He is a local named Ed Russo. He is Donald Trump’s environmental consultant and he wrote a very PRO-Trump book called Donald J. Trump: An Environmental Hero. Now, maybe you should think about why you are reacting in this way. What is there to be angry about here in terms of the media coverage? All of the relevant facts are provided by Amber in the video. Amber interviewed the attorney who is representing the married man. Perhaps we could be discussing policy instead? Do you believe the President means for these men to be deported in this manner?

I propose since so many insiders hate Trump that someone with authority in ICE deliberately did this to make Trump look bad. Trump would not have authorized a legal immigrant to be thrown out of this country. People do not care about collateral damage.

What crap. I know about 5 KW DOT bus drivers that are here and even have citizenship. A lot of them were allowed to enter because of the disasters in Haiti and the outright theft of gold and relief money by Bill Clinton putting up a fake company with his brother in charge as a gold mining/seller and stealing it from them. They then didn’t use most of the billions in aid and stole that from them too. The criminal globalist libretards at their finest. Look for the reports online about this, it isn’t hard to find. It won’t be on CNN – the Clinton News Network. It’s probably part of how George Soros got his money too.

I have several friends in the hospitality business in this town. This town is loaded with illegals per my friends. The notion that Illegal immigrants are some sort of protected class is ludicrous. Immigration laws are not about human rights. Immigration laws are about the rule of law and right and wrong. We either live in peace due to obeying the law or we live in chaos and anarchy.

I didn’t see any story, then figured out it was a video, which I watched. I do believe though, it would have been a little more enlightening if you had gotten a response from ICE. I have seen this happen for years and usually it is because someones visa has expired…… could be a snafu in the paperwork, or????? A little more thorough investigation from Amber might have revealed other information. Maybe they never got documentation on the marriage?….

ICE doesn’t give responses about individual cases. You have the entire story. Amber interviewed the man’s attorney and Amber gave you all the relevant elements of the story in the video. Yes, “they” have the documentation on the marriage and even sent a notice to his wife stating that the application was accepted. It is what it is.

I’ve been here 20 years, I have friend who are illegally here and I have friends who are legally here. From what I’ve seen Key West works with both. These ppl are here working, making beds and cleaning up after spoiled American tourist. They work their butts off and I Voted for Trump. But if ICE is really targeting innocent working immigrants who are doing gratefully what most of us spoiled American’s won’t do then I’m not happy. ICE really arrested these ppl based on nothing? Or is there more to this story. I want to know. Something’s not adding up. This video, as awesome as it was produced and as great a job as was to bring this out to to us citizens still leaves question unanswered. What was the true reason they targeted these particular individuals? I do not believe they were spotless. Something happened. There are so many more. Why were there guys put on the list to be Extracated from out society. Just my thoughts. Cliff

The headline could be ICE finally doing their job. The man entered illegally and had five years of employment that could have been given to legal citizen. Think about that. Let him go back and apply like the rest. This why The Donald will be reelected. Note to Amber and ICE: Check out the Casa Marina and the notorious labor contractor Mr. “Z”. The managers use his “service” to get around the legality questions and keep wages low.

Hi Fred, Let’s say you take the airplane into USA but don’t have a visa. Now let’s say the US, rather than sending you back home immediately which they could have done, gives you papers that allow you to stay and to work legally in the country. Are you here “legally”? Now, you’ve been here for 5-6 years, working hard, paying taxes, getting your work permit renewed every year and dutifully going to the annual interview where the government assures itself that you have not committed any crimes or anything that would make them want to immediately remove you. In the meanwhile you fall in love, get married to a US Citizen and apply for permanent residency status. This year things are different: you get your work permit renewed as usual – you have it in hand and it expires in 2018 and you go to your annual interview. But this time – without warning – you are thrown into Krome Detention Center and sent back to Haiti with just the clothes on your back. No time to organize yourself, get your wife situated here so she doesn’t find herself in the street or begging a sofa from friends because she can’t pay the rent on her one salary, no time to say good-bye to your loved ones or give your employer notice. Is this how you would handle things – if it were your decision? Is this what you thought would happen within weeks of the new Executive Order? What about all those “criminals and gangs” that were going to be “top priority”? Certainly there are huge issues with immigration policy. Apparently, there are, according to the attorney we interviewed, over 1000 Haitian workers with work authorization in this same situation in the Keys. Are there 1000 Americans that want to take their place?

I can’t condone violating our immigration laws. This person knew it when he entered illegally. It is my understanding from watching POTUS is ICE is going after those with criminal records first. ICE may not answer questions about an individual case but possibly they would comment on the perception of those with criminal records first.
The other question I have is, I know the family says he had no criminal record, did anyone do an actual background check? If he did have a record do you think the family is going to admit it. He may not have, I don’t know, but I think it is worth knowing from the reporter’s investigation rather than from family members.

Neither of these men have any criminal records in Monroe County. Not even a traffic ticket and they have been here over 5 years. The reporters did indeed fact check what they were told by family members. The reporters also spent time speaking with the employer of one of the men and two hours with the attorney of the other man to fact check their situations. It happened – there is no hidden justification. The man who has the attorney came here by plane without papers. The US could have sent him right back. The US chose instead to give him papers that allowed him to remain in the country and seek employement, which he did. In the interim – he fell in love and was married to an American citizen. Last week ICE decided to stick him in a detention center without warning with just the clothes on his back – no good-bye kiss – and today he was sent back to Haiti. Meanwhile he has a pending application for permanent residency status here. His wife can’t afford to pay the $1400 a month rent on her own and since his village in haiti was devastated by hurricane Matthew last year he was sent back to a tent City. That is what happened. It has been fact checked. Some people think it shouldn’t happen this way. Others clap their hands.

So, if I understand correctly one of these individuals flew into this country from Haiti and was welcomed by ICE and was given papers to stay here illegally I assume without a visa or passport 5 yrs ago. I feel for the family as it appears we, the US government, has played a part in this illegal situation. I do not pretend to understand all of the immigration laws but I have to say this all seems very suspicious to me but it may be SOP for ICE. Why would ICE pick out these individuals for deportation if they were upstanding illegal citizens. I use the word illegal as nothing thus far in your reporting has stated otherwise. You say you have fact checked. Family and attorneys are less than dependable sources. I have to ask, did he fly into Key West? He has no criminal record in Monroe County but where and what was he doing prior to arriving in KW. Maybe, just maybe he has had issues in some other state. Maybe a NCIC check would give you some idea of why he was on the ICE radar. Just saying, there might be more to this situation. I appreciate the story Amber presented but I’m not convinced it is the whole story.

O.K. Tell me if I understand correctly: You are saying this is “unbelievable” and that the family and their attorney are not telling us everything because ICE would never do this. Also you are saying that when you take an airplane into the US but you don’t have a certain piece of paper called a “visa” but the US gives you a different sort of piece of paper and officially grants you the right to stay and work in the US you are not here “legally”. Did I get that right? I don’t really understand why you would considered them “illegal” if they have been granted the right to stay and work in the US. There are many ways of being here legally: Citizenship, tourist visa, permanent residency, and this. Why doesn’t this way count as “legal” for you?

I never used the term “unbelievable”. I am not with out feelings for their situation but you offer no documentation regarding their being here legally yet you use the phrase “legal” aliens frequently in your video. You say they have documentation that shows they are here legally but you show nothing but your word or the word of the family and his attorney that these documents exists. Publish the documents.
You still do not offer up any national crime history and I am puzzled that at least one of the individuals has an attorney. What action did he take to have a hearing or block the deportation in court on this individual you say was here legally? Have you written to our congressmen, like maybe Senator Rubio, who certainly has an interest in immigration?
I don’t want to be rude in any way but it seems that your report lacks all of the facts. I have a few contacts so if you would like send me the names and date of birth of these individuals I will find out if they have any criminal history beyond Monroe County. You are quick to point out that they have no criminal history in Monroe County. If they had committed felonies in some other state it would not show up on a history check in Monroe County. That check would be only Monroe County.
I really appreciate your report but it seems to lack documentation to support your claims. If ICE is acting out of what POTUS is telling us then lets make our concerns known. I want the criminal element out first. I am not so concerned right now of illegals that are working and obeying our laws, but continued illegal immigration needs to stop so the exact circumstance that you have reported does not continue. It is not fare to them and it is not fare to us Americans

We apologize as we have to respond to this comment even though we mean to respond to your later comment below. [A WordPress issue].

Under the standards of journalism what one needs is at least two sources verifying the facts. In this case we have attorney, family, and employer that all say we have men who were living here with government authorization and working under a lawful current work permit. Were they U.S. citizens? No. Were they permanent residents? No. Were they here working through a legal system sanctioned by the US government? Yes. Which brings us to the policy issues that need to be focused on – because of these men and because they are not alone. But we’ll make you a deal. We will try to get a copy of the documentation through ICE [work permits, criminal history, deportation file]. It has been standard protocol for us to wait up to 6 months to a year for documents from the federal government… Let’s just say it’s perfectly ok to say game over – whatever their situation. What happened to notice? The time to pack a bag – get your family situated?

Actually, ICE is not going to provide any documentation due to privacy laws. We’ll ask the one attorney if he will provide copies of documentation he referred to in his interview on the one man. He too will need authorization from his client (who is now in Haiti) I’ll send you an email with more info about name and dob. Thanks!

The sob stories about immigrants appear daily in media like The NY Times. The question no one ever asks:
Is there any number at which point we should stop immigration?
Hillary Clinton said there would be NO deportations in her administration.
Setting to 1 side the flagrantly unconstitutional boast that she would not obey her oath of office to enforce the laws, why not ask her at what point she might deport immigrants and stop immigration?
There are 13 million Haitians all of whom will come here if they can.
There are 1.5 BILLION Chinese crammed into an environmentally, resource-poor, overcrowded country. At least half of them will come if they can.
Aliens have no right – constitutionally or morally – to come here and take our country.
I have no right to immigrate into Saudi Arabia and most other countries. Saudis have no right to come here.
For that matter, I have no right to immigrate to Israel because I don’t qualify. Israel is an ethno-state. Jews only. No Christians need apply.
None of the Social Justice Warriors seem to be bothered by that.
The fact that the American Jewish community as a whole has taken a transparently hypocritical and selfish position by simultaneously demanding a “Jews-Only” ethnostate for themselves but denying the right of Americans to control our borders will drive anti-semitism to unheard of proportions.
Our country is full.
No more immigrants.

USA has not enforced its immigration laws for as long as I can remember. The government of the United States has violated, broke and not followed its own laws for 30, 40, 50, 60 years or more; take your pick. The USA has not adhered to the laws it created.

So you have people willing to brave the risks of traversing some very dangerous territory, in order that they may have the chance of finding a “Life”, a life they never had, nor had the prospect of having, from whence they came.

An invitation for them to come was given via the USA allowing them entry, work, housing, education, medical treatment and assimilation into our culture. They were permitted to “live and come and go” as they please for how many years, without any threat of deportation from the authorities. Perhaps, it was to the government’s advantage to parlay the perils of these hard working men and women, into a profitable experience for some.

The plethora of laws broken by the USA, highlighted by its unwillingness to enforce its immigration and visa laws, created an open door policy that invited and welcomed all who dared to find a better way to live for themselves and their families, to come to America.

The citizens’ who continued to elect law breakers into public office, who’ve repeatedly violated the laws of the land; they should be deported first, prior to the courageous, hardworking and contributing members of our society, who at great peril, took America up on its invitation.

Trump needs to clarify his position on immigration, so even I can understand it. I’ve not seen the LEADERSHIP necessary to pull this country together and move forward.

1) Let’s get the criminal faction out of the country, real quick, right now. No one would stand in my way from accomplishing this objective. 2) Secure all borders. 3) Develop the means for hardworking, law-abiding and American loving immigrants; who’ve established themselves in our society as responsible individuals; to become citizens.

Two points Trump missed. Chicago…Fly in, put the gang leaders and families who’ve suffered violence together. You find them, I know where to look for them, make them feel comfortable and show some leadership. If you don’t know what to do, find someone who does. Move forward, get people pulling together…Hold them all accountable. Show them how it’s done.

California…You have a Dam on the verge of collapse. Water literally flowing destructively over and through the breeches of this structure. Thousands of lives in danger. Property and Commerce targeted to be destroyed. Where is Trump? Dams collapsing, trillion dollar infrastructure project proposed…Where’s Trump? Army Corps of Engineers would have been immediately deployed and put to work..24 hours a day, none stop shift work…until this structure was secured.

Many illegal’s in LA . Most know how to dig a ditch and patch a hole with cement. Why send them back, when we need them right there. There’s more blood, sweat and tears to be squeezed from them….

I’m just a reader of this article and the comments, but I do have some input regarding illegal immigrants in Key West. Short story: I once rented out a 4 bedroom apartment to a Haitian lady who agreed to abide with my request of having a maximum of 3-4 people staying there. As time went on, one day she came to me and said that the son of one of her “roommates” just came in from Haiti and for some reason slapped her in the face, and also that this man was wanted for manslaughter in Haiti.

The point that has been questioned by other’s comments, is that a person might not have criminal activity in Monroe County but they might have problems elsewhere, That’s where extreme vetting comes into play, not only in the Key West area for Haitians, but also includes vetting in other countries if they have a working government and also includes other areas of America.

My purpose to write this is not to make a judgment here on Haitians or ICE or the article itself, just wanted to tell a pertinent, short story.

Regarding the men in this story. They have no criminal records in Monroe County but have lived here for 5-6 years. Anything “criminal” then would have had to have occurred prior to that and we would have to assume that ICE had overlooked it for over 5 years and only found out about it now if we are to make some assumption that the family, lawyer and employer either aren’t telling the whole truth or don’t know the whole truth. Not very likely. These men are well known in the community as extremely good hard working people. They are vouched for by some very outstanding widely respected residents. The attorney of one of them men has gone on record on video – generally speaking its not a good idea for attorneys to make false statements — so we believe him when he tells us there are no issues with criminality in the case of his client. So for the sake of discussion let’s just assume that it is true that there are no issue with criminality and move on to the issue of immigration policy. Let’s look at the case of the one man who is married to a US Citizen. Do you accept ICE’s version of how to properly handle this man’s case? Thrown in detention center and sent to Haiti with no notice and no hearing?

” Do you accept ICE’s version of how to properly handle this man’s case? Thrown in detention center and sent to Haiti with no notice and no hearing?”

No, and I have no idea why they would do this. President Trump’s stated thought about illegal immigrants is to round up and deport illegal criminal felons, and to also clean out criminal gangs like MS-13, etc.

Maybe ICE didn’t get the memo down here, so they should bring the deported gentlemen back to Key West, imo.

Superb coverage by Amber Nolan. Outstanding story. Excellent editorial discretion. Thank you for the follow-up comments, which clearly and succinctly point out the harm and destruction an unbridled government can inflict upon individuals, who just the other day, were in compliance with the law, as it was presented to them.

Having spoken with several beautiful, hard working and law-abiding families “on the immigration watch list”, by chance, before reading Amber’s story, got me fired up about all of the baloney surrounding the Leaderless stance the USA has taken on this extremely delicate, sensitive and potentially life destroying issue…

The arbitrary, ambiguous and lawless position adopted by the USA concerning its immigration policies, is causing great FEAR, SUFFERING & TRAUMA for many millions of innocent children and residents, living under the threat of imprisonment and deportation…For alleged violations, up until just recently, had been sanctioned and condoned by the United States Government…

It sounds like he entered shortly after the 2010 Haitian earthquake. At that time, there was a humanitarian visa program at the time that allowed people to stay in the USA with a work permit, but for a limited time. Is that perhaps how he received his work permit? That program was never intended to offer its recipients a path to permanent USA residency.

I began by reading the first couple of comments and then watched the video.

FIU Professor, Erik Camayd-Freixas made an interesting statement at the Town Hall meeting “First of all ICE operates with secrecy, without accountability, without transparency, beyond control of the President, Obama could not control them and now President Trump has given them the green light”

He said that ICE operates beyond the control of the President but blames Trump?

The story here isn’t about the President’s immigration policy changes it is about people being deported and no reason given. I’m not sure if ICE can comment on open investigations or deportations because it may effect other work they are doing.

Living in this country is a privilege for anyone who has a green card, period. Everyone accepts that If someone breaks the law they can be deported. From what I watched ICE has been doing annual checks verifying compliance which he Jean has passed.

Jean D. Dervil got married in September of 2016 to a US citizen which could have initiated a more through background check of his life in Hatti. It may have moved his immigration application to the top of the stack so to speak.

On a side note at the 5:10 mark I stopped the video to get the correct spelling of his name. You may want to edit that portion out because it makes public a lot of his personal information.

I wish him and his wife the best but will withhold judgment on whether his deportation is a result of the President’s new immigration policy or his recent marriage which reveled something in his background. Since ICE will not provide any information I’m not sure we will ever know.

“but will withhold judgment on whether his deportation is a result of the President’s new immigration policy or his recent marriage which reveled something in his background. Since ICE will not provide any information I’m not sure we will ever know.”

Right, I should have added the above on my previous comment. Doesn’t make sense to just send this man back if he was clean – which seems to be against President Trump’s policy.

Without actual facts it is hard to judge what happened. That a man has no criminal record for 5 years or 50 years in Monroe county means nothing. Could have done anything in other states or his country. Was he actually here legally or simply was delayed in deporting. Simply getting here and managing to stay a few years does not change you from illegal to legal. So unless we can see a document as proof of legal then all we have is his family and friends and a paid lawyers word. People do lie about criminal records. I deal with it every day as a landlord. Some will say they have no arrest records and within seconds I they are found with mug shots and serious charges. Do I blame them for trying ? Who wouldn’t lie if telling truth costs them rejection of a job or place to live ? Some have charges and arrest dating back to teen years or 30 years. Unless they have proof of charges dropped it haunts them forever.
Many have assault charges over so much as pushing a wife or girl friend they live with. If a cop shows up for domestic dispute chances are high one or both are off to jail and booked.

So in this case we must trust that if they are deported that they were listed as illegal and were simply managing to work and stay. No idea if Trump placed pressure on KW or not.

What does concern us is the result of lost help in KW. This just might turn out better and without cheap help boost the wages Would be nice to see actual facts and not just a video.

For now will trust all that were deported likely did not enter legally regardless of work permits. Not sure why they even had such permits.

Great comment. Insightful and coupled with wisdom, perhaps an answer lies within it…

A rogue and unbridle government agency that operates in secrecy, beyond the scope and control of the President of the United States; is a frightening proposition.

If that’s true, we have a very big problem. With that type of authority & power, unaccountable to anyone, deportation and imprisonment are just the tip of the iceberg.

As Leader of the Free World, every agent and agency within the confines of a country must cooperatively operate in the Sunshine, with the rule of law and Constitution of the United States, as a backdrop to every action performed, all of the time.

Lead-Follow-Or Get Out of the Way…

If I’m not up to the task, I’ll find someone who’ll root out the Darkness, Criminality and Ineffectiveness of any government agency, which is unfit to appropriately serve the American People.

Regardless of who’s at the helm; a lot of Blood Sacrifices birthed and maintained our Nation, imperfect as we are, we must never squander our inheritance, as we move forward towards the Light. A Beacon of Hope for All People’s of the World…

One of the primary reasons that he was so rapidly picked up and removed is that people in a similar situation, who will be told to report on a certain date for certain deportation, tend to disappear into the wind. The estimate is as high as 90%, I know that if I knew I was about to be sent on a one-way trip back to Haiti, I would be gone on the next bus North. It’s not a fair process, but it is legal and necessary.

“If I’m not up to the task, I’ll find someone who’ll root out the Darkness, Criminality and Ineffectiveness of any government agency, which is unfit to appropriately serve the American People.”

John, Actually, that is what President Trump and his team seem committed to do. However, let’s take an example of what is happening right this minute with the investigation of Trump’s claim that Trump Towers was tapped.

After just a few days, spokesmen (both Democrat and Republican) for the Investigation stated that they haven’t seen any evidence of wiretapping. While in reality, if done correctly an investigation like this could take months, and the can o’ worms uncovered could be something that most wouldn’t want to see. Meaning, if this person was involved, then another was involved and on-and-on-and-on.

Problems could be so deep and widespread that replacing these involved people could be nearly impossible because of the volumes of trained, experienced employees that would have to be released or prosecuted. That’s the can o’ worms or as someone said to me this morning – a Pandora’s Box.

Your contributions to the discussion and Blue Paper are invaluable. Thanks so very much.

In a “political & world climate” where there’s dissension, chaos and a certain amount of panic; discretion is the better part of valor. Caution, along with well-thought out actions designed to bring ease, comfort and solutions are necessary, in order to advance one’s cause.

Times demand that everyone in a position of leadership, “must be smarter than the average bear”.

Amber should do a story about the Russian contractors who manage the undocumented workers in KW. My roommate is undocumented and works in a guest house here in KW for 12 years. He is paid $12 an hour. The guesthouse pays the salary to the russian contractor, with the appropriate taxes taken out, and the russian gives my roomate a paycheck for $10.50 an hour. The guesthouse does this to limit their liability for hiring undocumented workers. Their defense is they don’t hire the undocumented, they contract with the russian to provide the employees and the russian takes the risk with IRS , ICE, etc. But the russian is getting $1.50 an hour from hundreds of KW workers. It’s a huge scam but no one will complain because they fear losing their jobs